From December 2018 to March 2019, gross job gains in private sector establishments in Missouri totaled 129,371, while gross job losses numbered 126,018, resulting in a net employment gain of 3,353 jobs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that during the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 9,868. (See chart 1 and table 1)      

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private business establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.)

Gross job gains in Missouri decreased by 8,590 in the first quarter of 2019 and were at their lowest level since the first quarter of 2015. The number of gross job losses declined by 2,075 in the first quarter of 2019. Missouri recorded net job gains in the most recent two quarters after recording a net job loss in the third quarter of 2018. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 5.4 percent of private sector employment in Missouri in the first quarter of  2019; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.9 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.)  Missouri’s rate of gross job losses as a percent of private sector employment was 5.3 percent in the first quarter of 2019, lower than the national rate of 5.5 percent. Generally, the state’s rates of gross job gains and gross job losses have been equal to or below the U.S. rate in each quarter since the series began in 1992.

During the first quarter of 2019, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 11 industry sectors in Missouri. For example, within leisure and hospitality, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,353. While 25,353 jobs in the industry were created by opening and expanding establishments, 23,000 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the first quarter of 2019. Education and health services and construction experienced net gains of 2,234 and 1,345 jobs, respectively.

Among the five industries that recorded net job losses, professional and businesses services had the largest net employment decline with a loss of 1,433 jobs. (See table 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. For more information on the Business Employment Dynamics data, visit the BED web site at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics release for second quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 29, 2020.

Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), or the ES-202 program. The BED data are compiled from existing quarterly QCEW  records. The QCEW reports are sent by the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) to BLS and form the basis of the Bureau’s QCEW program and establishment universe sampling frame. These reports are also used to produce the QCEW data on total employment and wages. Other important Bureau uses of the QCEW reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, net changes, and earnings by detailed industry.

In the BED program, the QCEW records are linked across quarters to provide a longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net employment changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and expanding establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting establishments.

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in the economy. BED statistics track these changes in employment at private business establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in employment.

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average of employment in the current and previous quarters. The rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net growth rate.

The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:

Openings.  These are either establishments with positive third month employment for the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or with positive third month employment in the current quarter following zero employment in the previous quarter.

Expansions.  These are establishments with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period.

Closings.  These are either establishments with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

Contractions.  These are establishments with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Missouri, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and job losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2018	Jun. 2018	Sep. 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	Mar. 2018	Jun. 2018	Sep. 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	130,075	136,499	142,095	137,961	129,371	5.5	5.7	5.9	5.8	5.4
At expanding establishments	105,963	110,167	112,885	112,802	102,474	4.5	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.3
At opening establishments	24,112	26,332	29,210	25,159	26,897	1.0	1.1	1.2	1.1	1.1
Gross job losses	125,766	135,700	142,563	128,093	126,018	5.2	5.7	6.0	5.4	5.3
At contracting establishments	103,216	109,977	116,962	102,058	102,917	4.3	4.6	4.9	4.3	4.3
At closing establishments	22,550	25,723	25,601	26,035	23,101	0.9	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.0
Net employment change (2)	4,309	799	-468	9,868	3,353	0.3	0.0	-0.1	0.4	0.1
Construction
Gross job gains	11,565	11,330	10,632	11,069	12,030	9.2	9.2	8.7	8.9	9.6
At expanding establishments	9,166	9,277	8,574	8,696	9,521	7.3	7.5	7.0	7.0	7.6
At opening establishments	2,399	2,053	2,058	2,373	2,509	1.9	1.7	1.7	1.9	2.0
Gross job losses	11,329	11,378	11,537	10,976	10,685	9.0	9.2	9.3	8.9	8.6
At contracting establishments	9,020	9,037	9,292	8,214	8,352	7.2	7.3	7.5	6.7	6.7
At closing establishments	2,309	2,341	2,245	2,762	2,333	1.8	1.9	1.8	2.2	1.9
Net employment change (2)	236	-48	-905	93	1,345	0.2	0.0	-0.6	0.0	1.0
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	8,018	9,144	8,575	8,208	7,076	3.0	3.4	3.1	3.0	2.5
At expanding establishments	7,458	8,463	7,499	7,587	6,515	2.8	3.1	2.7	2.8	2.3
At opening establishments	560	681	1,076	621	561	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.2
Gross job losses	6,629	7,270	7,060	6,466	6,963	2.4	2.6	2.6	2.4	2.5
At contracting establishments	6,021	6,325	6,471	5,688	6,338	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.1	2.3
At closing establishments	608	945	589	778	625	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2
Net employment change (2)	1,389	1,874	1,515	1,742	113	0.6	0.8	0.5	0.6	0.0
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	4,930	5,373	6,064	6,263	4,814	4.0	4.5	5.0	5.1	3.9
At expanding establishments	4,151	4,566	4,892	5,295	3,776	3.4	3.8	4.0	4.3	3.1
At opening establishments	779	807	1,172	968	1,038	0.6	0.7	1.0	0.8	0.8
Gross job losses	5,060	4,965	5,446	5,288	5,447	4.2	4.1	4.5	4.3	4.5
At contracting establishments	4,056	4,004	4,355	4,018	4,366	3.4	3.3	3.6	3.3	3.6
At closing establishments	1,004	961	1,091	1,270	1,081	0.8	0.8	0.9	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-130	408	618	975	-633	-0.2	0.4	0.5	0.8	-0.6
Retail trade
Gross job gains	16,947	16,759	17,591	15,183	15,403	5.5	5.4	5.7	4.9	5.0
At expanding establishments	14,583	14,076	14,889	13,347	13,220	4.7	4.5	4.8	4.3	4.3
At opening establishments	2,364	2,683	2,702	1,836	2,183	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.6	0.7
Gross job losses	16,302	18,071	19,367	17,412	16,288	5.2	5.8	6.2	5.7	5.3
At contracting establishments	14,436	15,874	16,885	14,730	14,066	4.6	5.1	5.4	4.8	4.6
At closing establishments	1,866	2,197	2,482	2,682	2,222	0.6	0.7	0.8	0.9	0.7
Net employment change (2)	645	-1,312	-1,776	-2,229	-885	0.3	-0.4	-0.5	-0.8	-0.3
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	5,596	5,082	5,221	6,851	5,161	6.1	5.5	5.6	7.3	5.4
At expanding establishments	4,844	4,303	4,393	6,015	4,268	5.3	4.7	4.7	6.4	4.5
At opening establishments	752	779	828	836	893	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	5,432	4,417	4,711	4,580	5,205	5.9	4.8	5.1	4.8	5.4
At contracting establishments	4,828	3,706	3,825	3,792	4,629	5.2	4.0	4.1	4.0	4.8
At closing establishments	604	711	886	788	576	0.7	0.8	1.0	0.8	0.6
Net employment change (2)	164	665	510	2,271	-44	0.2	0.7	0.5	2.5	0.0
Information
Gross job gains	2,090	2,076	2,153	2,275	1,769	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.8	3.7
At expanding establishments	1,726	1,805	1,671	1,981	1,412	3.6	3.8	3.5	4.2	3.0
At opening establishments	364	271	482	294	357	0.8	0.6	1.0	0.6	0.7
Gross job losses	2,034	2,338	2,878	2,147	2,170	4.2	4.8	6.1	4.6	4.6
At contracting establishments	1,700	1,938	2,504	1,694	1,836	3.5	4.0	5.3	3.6	3.9
At closing establishments	334	400	374	453	334	0.7	0.8	0.8	1.0	0.7
Net employment change (2)	56	-262	-725	128	-401	0.2	-0.4	-1.6	0.2	-0.9
Financial activities
Gross job gains	6,668	7,117	7,733	7,999	6,966	4.1	4.4	4.7	5.0	4.3
At expanding establishments	5,257	5,802	5,915	6,291	5,394	3.2	3.6	3.6	3.9	3.3
At opening establishments	1,411	1,315	1,818	1,708	1,572	0.9	0.8	1.1	1.1	1.0
Gross job losses	6,930	6,431	8,300	7,058	6,563	4.2	4.0	5.1	4.3	4.0
At contracting establishments	5,559	5,116	6,211	5,403	5,229	3.4	3.2	3.8	3.3	3.2
At closing establishments	1,371	1,315	2,089	1,655	1,334	0.8	0.8	1.3	1.0	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-262	686	-567	941	403	-0.1	0.4	-0.4	0.7	0.3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	23,762	25,549	27,516	23,761	22,799	6.2	6.7	7.1	6.1	5.9
At expanding establishments	19,660	20,283	21,551	19,114	17,732	5.1	5.3	5.6	4.9	4.6
At opening establishments	4,102	5,266	5,965	4,647	5,067	1.1	1.4	1.5	1.2	1.3
Gross job losses	22,922	22,997	24,966	25,359	24,232	5.9	6.0	6.4	6.6	6.3
At contracting establishments	18,195	18,079	20,183	19,963	19,533	4.7	4.7	5.2	5.2	5.1
At closing establishments	4,727	4,918	4,783	5,396	4,699	1.2	1.3	1.2	1.4	1.2
Net employment change (2)	840	2,552	2,550	-1,598	-1,433	0.3	0.7	0.7	-0.5	-0.4
Education and health services
Gross job gains	18,941	20,982	22,226	22,197	20,936	4.2	4.6	5.0	4.8	4.6
At expanding establishments	13,870	14,449	16,058	16,102	15,054	3.1	3.2	3.6	3.5	3.3
At opening establishments	5,071	6,533	6,168	6,095	5,882	1.1	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.3
Gross job losses	19,720	21,931	21,029	18,593	18,702	4.4	4.9	4.6	4.1	4.1
At contracting establishments	14,321	15,360	15,046	13,084	13,336	3.2	3.4	3.3	2.9	2.9
At closing establishments	5,399	6,571	5,983	5,509	5,366	1.2	1.5	1.3	1.2	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-779	-949	1,197	3,604	2,234	-0.2	-0.3	0.4	0.7	0.5
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	24,925	25,905	27,638	27,150	25,353	8.1	8.4	9.1	8.8	8.2
At expanding establishments	20,064	21,384	22,275	22,751	20,097	6.5	6.9	7.3	7.4	6.5
At opening establishments	4,861	4,521	5,363	4,399	5,256	1.6	1.5	1.8	1.4	1.7
Gross job losses	22,592	29,178	29,770	23,567	23,000	7.3	9.4	9.8	7.7	7.4
At contracting establishments	19,673	25,344	26,105	20,200	19,827	6.4	8.2	8.6	6.6	6.4
At closing establishments	2,919	3,834	3,665	3,367	3,173	0.9	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.0
Net employment change (2)	2,333	-3,273	-2,132	3,583	2,353	0.8	-1.0	-0.7	1.1	0.8
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	5,048	5,537	5,246	4,920	5,137	7.0	7.6	7.2	6.8	7.1
At expanding establishments	3,888	4,398	3,948	3,888	3,845	5.4	6.0	5.4	5.4	5.3
At opening establishments	1,160	1,139	1,298	1,032	1,292	1.6	1.6	1.8	1.4	1.8
Gross job losses	4,889	5,243	5,794	5,029	4,716	6.8	7.2	8.0	7.0	6.5
At contracting establishments	3,759	4,067	4,614	3,949	3,606	5.2	5.6	6.4	5.5	5.0
At closing establishments	1,130	1,176	1,180	1,080	1,110	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.5
Net employment change (2)	159	294	-548	-109	421	0.2	0.4	-0.8	-0.2	0.6
Footnotes: (1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately. (2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. See the Technical Note for further information. (3) Except public administration.

Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2018	June 2018	Sept. 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	Mar. 2018	June 2018	Sept. 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019
United States(1)	6.1	6.1	6.0	6.3	5.9	5.5	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.5
Alabama	6.1	5.8	6.0	6.3	6.0	5.4	5.7	5.9	5.3	5.5
Alaska	10.1	10.9	8.9	11.0	10.0	8.9	10.7	10.7	9.8	9.0
Arizona	6.0	6.0	6.6	6.2	5.6	5.3	5.9	5.1	5.1	5.5
Arkansas	5.4	5.0	6.1	5.9	5.2	5.2	5.7	5.6	5.0	5.1
California	6.4	6.7	6.5	6.9	6.3	6.0	6.4	6.2	5.9	6.2
Colorado	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.8	6.6	6.0	6.1	6.8	6.0	6.3
Connecticut	5.1	5.8	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.3	5.1	5.7	4.9	5.7
Delaware	7.1	6.4	5.7	6.6	6.4	5.9	6.0	6.5	5.6	5.5
District of Columbia	6.0	5.6	5.3	5.6	5.4	4.9	5.6	5.5	5.1	4.9
Florida	6.2	6.4	6.8	6.4	6.1	5.5	6.1	5.8	6.1	5.6
Georgia	6.5	6.3	6.7	6.3	6.8	5.7	6.4	6.1	5.8	5.7
Hawaii	5.1	5.3	5.1	5.8	5.4	4.7	5.4	5.4	5.1	5.9
Idaho	7.9	7.3	6.8	7.4	7.5	6.1	6.8	6.9	6.3	6.1
Illinois	5.7	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.6	5.8	5.6	5.1
Indiana	5.7	5.5	5.2	5.6	5.9	5.1	5.5	5.4	5.0	4.8
Iowa	5.6	5.7	5.3	5.8	5.1	5.3	5.4	5.7	5.3	5.4
Kansas	5.3	5.7	5.9	6.1	5.4	5.4	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.7
Kentucky	6.2	5.9	5.8	6.1	5.8	5.9	5.7	6.0	5.4	5.5
Louisiana	6.7	6.2	6.3	6.2	5.9	5.9	6.5	6.3	5.8	5.9
Maine	7.0	8.0	6.1	7.3	7.2	7.0	7.1	7.5	6.7	6.4
Maryland	6.3	6.1	6.3	6.8	6.4	5.8	5.8	6.6	6.4	5.7
Massachusetts	5.7	6.1	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.2	5.5	6.1	5.3	5.2
Michigan	5.6	5.5	5.0	5.6	5.1	4.6	5.2	6.2	5.2	4.6
Minnesota	5.4	5.8	5.5	5.7	5.2	5.1	5.2	5.7	5.4	5.1
Mississippi	5.5	5.7	5.9	6.5	5.7	6.0	6.0	5.9	5.3	6.2
Missouri	5.5	5.7	5.9	5.8	5.4	5.2	5.7	6.0	5.4	5.3
Montana	7.9	8.0	7.2	8.9	7.6	7.1	7.8	7.9	7.2	8.0
Nebraska	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.7	5.6	5.8	5.9	5.7	5.6
Nevada	6.5	6.1	6.7	6.6	6.0	5.5	5.8	5.7	5.5	5.4
New Hampshire	6.1	6.7	5.7	6.6	6.3	6.0	6.2	6.8	5.7	5.7
New Jersey	5.7	6.5	6.0	6.4	5.7	6.1	5.8	6.4	5.7	5.6
New Mexico	6.5	6.7	6.4	6.8	6.4	5.7	6.2	6.4	6.1	5.8
New York	6.3	6.3	6.1	6.3	6.0	5.6	5.8	6.4	5.7	5.3
North Carolina	6.2	6.1	5.7	6.7	6.3	5.3	5.7	6.4	5.3	5.1
North Dakota	7.1	6.7	6.6	6.8	7.1	6.3	6.2	6.6	6.2	6.4
Ohio	5.6	5.6	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.1	5.4	5.8	5.3	5.1
Oklahoma	6.2	6.4	6.7	6.5	5.8	5.7	6.3	6.1	6.1	5.8
Oregon	8.0	6.2	6.2	6.7	6.3	5.8	6.3	6.3	6.0	5.8
Pennsylvania	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.3	5.1	4.9	5.1	5.2	4.8	4.8
Rhode Island	6.4	6.3	6.2	6.4	5.8	6.1	6.1	6.4	5.7	5.6
South Carolina	6.3	7.5	5.8	7.4	6.4	5.1	6.7	6.5	5.4	6.0
South Dakota	6.4	6.1	6.0	6.3	5.7	5.9	6.1	5.7	5.8	6.4
Tennessee	5.1	5.5	5.8	5.8	5.4	4.9	5.3	5.3	4.9	4.8
Texas	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.2	5.5	5.1	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.2
Utah	7.5	6.9	7.3	6.9	7.3	6.0	6.4	6.4	6.2	6.2
Vermont	6.5	7.2	6.9	7.4	6.7	7.0	7.1	7.6	6.8	6.3
Virginia	6.0	6.2	5.7	6.3	6.4	5.4	5.8	6.3	5.6	5.5
Washington	7.2	7.3	6.2	6.4	6.2	6.2	6.5	6.5	5.6	5.6
West Virginia	6.9	6.8	7.0	6.3	6.0	6.0	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.6
Wisconsin	5.6	5.5	5.1	5.4	5.1	4.7	5.5	5.9	5.0	4.8
Wyoming	8.6	8.4	8.3	10.0	8.6	8.0	8.4	8.4	7.8	7.8
Puerto Rico	8.5	7.9	7.2	6.0	7.1	6.9	6.2	5.8	6.8	5.1
Virgin Islands	13.3	13.2	12.8	7.9	11.9	18.6	7.0	5.9	7.1	7.4
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.